Conventional linear blend skinning techniques are used by computing devices to transform digital images. For example, an animator may create an initial digital image through interaction with a computing device. Linear blend skinning techniques are then used to makes changes to that initial image to form different variations of the initial image to form frames of the animation. To do so, different handle types may be specified in relation to the digital image as part of the linear blend skinning to deform artwork in the digital image in order to make the changes.
Although these conventional types of handles may work well for workflows like animation, these conventional types of handles may fail when confronted with other types of artwork, like vector graphics. For example, conventional bone handles are limited to pivoting around a joint, and thus a deformation based on this bone handle follows real-world physics that is useful in animation. Other examples of conventional handles, such as point and cage handles, are also limited to user interaction at discreet points in their geometry.
Thus, other types of artwork like vector graphics that support a wider range of workflows involving a greater degree of artistic freedom are limited by these conventional techniques. For instance, conventional techniques may require users to plot a multitude of these conventional handles manually through interaction with the computing device in order to obtain a fine level of control, especially to follow curves, which is tedious and adversely affects operation of the computing device. This may even prevent these conventional techniques from functioning on computing devices having limited resources, e.g., mobile devices, and limited these conventional techniques from doing so in real time.